Ramp curve

Attainment against a full quota by month of tenure, measured from the team's own past hires with the range. The input that turns headcount into productive capacity per month.

DefinitionAttainment against a full quota by month of tenure, measured from the team's own past hires with the range. The input that turns headcount into productive capacity per month.

From data, not rule of thumb

Six months is a guess. The team's hires reach 80 percent in month seven or month ten, and the roster and attainment history say which.

Hiring dates

A September hire contributes under a month of full capacity to the year. The plan says so in January.

How it is computed

Attainment against a full quota by month of tenure, from the team's own past hires, shown as a median with a range.

Example

New hires reach a median of 20 percent of full quota in month three, 55 percent in month six and 90 percent in month ten. A hire at 25 percent in month six is outside the range.

Where it goes wrong

A new rep given a full quota from the first month, or a planned headcount counted as full capacity.

Articles that use this term

Coverage and territory · Sales teams

A new rep's first ninety days, from the data: the list that replaces shadowing

What a newly hired rep should be given on day one from the book they inherit: the accounts ranked by revenue with days since last touch, the returning lines that were bought and dropped, the dormant accounts with their cadence and run rate, the open deals with slip counts, and the tier cadence that says who to call first. A ninety-day plan in three lists, the measures that say whether the ramp is on track, and why it beats a week of shadowing.

16 Sept 20263 min read Territory, capacity and quota planning

Capacity is arithmetic: how to build a sales capacity plan that reconciles to the budget

The capacity model behind a defensible sales headcount plan: reps times calls times weeks less ramp on one side, accounts times required frequency on the other, the gap in reps per territory, and the scenario table that lands on a cost finance can put in the plan.

16 Sept 20263 min read Territory, capacity and quota planning

Ramp and attrition in the capacity plan: why headcount is not capacity

How a sales leader turns a headcount plan into a capacity plan from the team's own data: the ramp curve measured from past hires' attainment by month of tenure, the attrition rate by tenure band, the productive capacity each month that results, and the hiring dates that produce the number in the year, not the year after.

16 Sept 20263 min read